Nov. 10, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) drained four three-pointer to lead the #15/13 Penn State Lady Lions (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) to a 78-61 victory over Fordham (1-1) Sunday. With the quartet of three-pointers, Lucas moves into second place on the Big Ten's career three-pointers list (297), passing Michigan State's Lindsay Bowen.
Lucas followed up her stellar 33-point outing in Friday's season opener by pouring in 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. She also had another perfect day from the free throw line, hitting all five shots to extend her consecutive streak to 30. The 23-point performance marks the 48th time that the senior has amassed at least 20 points in a game.
Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) and senior guard Dara Taylor (Wilmington, Del.) also reached double figures on the afternoon. Edwards scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added four rebounds and four assists to complete her day, while Taylor totaled 12 points and chipped in two rebounds and two assists. Sophomore center Candice Agee (Victorville, Calif.) tied her career high with eight points and also pulled in seven rebounds.
The Lady Lions used a well-balanced offensive attack over the first 5:30 to build a quick six-point lead (11-6). Five different Penn State players scored the team's first five buckets. Taylor scored the game's opening points by hitting a jumper followed by layups from Agee and Talia East (Philadelphia, Pa.). Lucas then connected on her first three of the day and Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added a jumper to close out the Lions' early spurt.
The Rams' Hannah Missry responded by sinking a shot from beyond the arc to trim the PSU lead to 11-8 with 14 minutes remaining in the first frame, but that would be as close as Fordham would get for the remainder of the game. The Lady Lions answered by reeling off 11 of the game's next 13 points over a three minute span to increase their lead to double-digits. Lucas started the run by canning a triple and then making a runner in the lane. After a Mitchell free throw and a Fordham successful layup, Penn State freshman Keke Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) connected from distance and Taylor converted a jumper to cap the run.
The Rams responded by going on an 8-2 run, cutting the PSU lead to seven (25-18), but Edwards drained back-to-back jumpers to push the lead back to 11 (29-18) with six minutes left. Over the next five minutes of action, Penn State managed to methodically increase its lead to 15 (38-23) with just under a minute to play. Lucas was the catalyst during the stretch, scoring five of PSU's nine points off of her third trey of the half and two makes from the charity stripe. However, Fordham scored the final five points of the half to cut the Lady Lion lead to just 10 (38-28) heading into the break.
Edwards began the second stanza by making a jumper and draining a triple for the Lady Lions to jumpstart a 12-4 Penn State spurt in the first three minutes of the half to grab a commanding 18-point lead (50-32). East finished a layup, Lucas converted two free throws and Taylor capped off the run with a make from long range to give the Blue and White its largest lead of the game at the time.
Once again, the Rams refused to go away. Over the next three and a half minutes, Fordham accounted for 10 of the next 12 points to trim PSU's lead back down to 52-42 with 13:12 left on the scoreboard. After the Rams fought to get back in the game, the Lady Lions immediately went on a run to put the contest away. During the next eight minutes of action, Penn State outscored Fordham 23-6, building its largest lead of the afternoon at 75-48 and put the game out of reach. Edwards and Lucas combined for 16 of the Blue and White's 23 points over the run. Fordham scored 13 of the final 16 points for the final margin of 78-61.
GAME NOTES: The Lady Lions extended their home court winning streak to 22, which is tied for the fourth-longest in school history ... Penn State also extended its non-conference home court to 15 games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in program history ... This is the eighth consecutive 2-0 start for the Lady Lions ... Maggie Lucas passes Michigan State's Lindsay Bowen (2003-06) for second place on the Big Ten's career three-pointers list (297) ... Lucas posted her 48th career 20-point game with 23 tallies ... With one steals, Lucas tied Dana Eikenberg (1989-92) and Vanessa Paynter (1984-87) for 16th place on the Penn State career steals list (182) ... Lucas extended her school record for consecutive games with a three-pointer to 37 games ... Lucas also extended her consecutive free throws streak to 30, dating back to last season ... Lucas is 21-for-21 in 2013-14 ... Sophomore center Candice Agee tied her career high with eight points. This is the fourth time in her career that she had eight tallies in a game ... Senior guard/forward Ariel Edwards tied her career high with four assists.
The Lady Lions host the top-ranked Connecticut Huskies for the first time in more than 30 years on Sunday at noon. Fans that attend Saturday's Penn State-Purdue football game can show their ticket stub and receive a buy one, get one free ticket offer. The game is also part of the Kickoff to Tipoff and Triple Threat ticket packages.
Lady Lion Basketball single-game and season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Single-game tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and seniors and $9 and $7 for youth (12 and younger). Season tickets are $99 for adults and $50 for youth (12 and under), this includes a Nittany Lion Kids Club Membership for 2013-14. New this year, the Lady Lions have introduced a Family Season Ticket package. For $200, fans will get two adult tickets and two youth tickets for the 2013-14 campaign. The PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game and the Lady Lions' Pink Zone game.
The 2014 Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 as the Lady Lions take on Wisconsin in the Bryce Jordan Center at 1 p.m. Last year, the Lady Lions donated a record $260,000 to breast cancer causes. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and Lewistown Hospital. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.pennsylvaniapinkzone.org.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstateladylions.